Until Dawn: The Return to Blackwood
by Nad'RojCym420
Summary: After the traumatizing events that transpired in the Washington lodge in the Blackwood mountain, the survivors drifted apart. There are some mysteries left, though. And one of them is what happened to Josh? And where is he now? This is the reason of Sam's sudden interest to return into the mountain. Sam wishes to know what will happen next and all begins with the search for Josh...
1. Chapter One: Recovering Wounds

Chapter One:

Recovering Wounds

Ever since the traumatizing experience at the Washington Lodge on Blackwood Mountain, Sam never got in touch with her friends ever again. They just… drifted apart. The last time all of them stayed in one place is when the rescue team dropped them to the hospital then to the sheriff for questions. After the questioning sessions, they were given a chance to talk among themselves what transpired in the mountain.

None of them ever talked. They just stared at each other. Sam saw the chains though.

The room where they led Sam and the others is a vast white painted room with two couches facing each other and three stools. In the middle is a coffee table where Ashley's well, coffee is placed, untouched.

In the corner, Mike stood behind the couch where Jess is seated looking both protective for Jess and scared for her due to what just happened. His face is gaunt from the sleepless night. Bruises and wounds are visible. His bandaged hand covered the traces of the stumps of three fingers that were removed from a bear-trap back in the sanitarium.

Jess looked terrible with her bruises and cuts even with her new jeans and a shirt. She is silent most of the time now. Only Mike seems to be able to talk to her. Waking up wounded, almost naked in the mines, clueless who and how did they drag her there in the first place… changed her… especially when the _things_ tried to rush in to kill her.

Emily's silence gave off the hint that her relationship with Matt is officially over. She is seated in the other end of the couch staring at the white wall. She had her jacket removed revealing her bandages. The bite must've been pretty painful but going through the near death thing with Mike in the basement made the wound nothing. And the part where Matt actually tried to abandon her in the wrecked tower snapped the line. She's now both mad with Mike and Matt.

Matt sat in a stool beside the couch where Sam is seated. He looks beaten and weak. The destruction of the radio tower got him pretty shaky and even more cautious in everything he does mainly because he tried to leave Emily to her death back there in the chasm. Still, his caring demeanor hasn't changed. But Sam can still see some change. And one of it is that he no longer loves nor even likes Emily.

Ashley, who is seated beside Sam, is silently sobbing. She got herself a cup of coffee earlier but Sam doesn't know if Ashley is intending to drink it since it's been in the coffee table ever since they got inside the room. After the rescue, Ashley removed her bonnet allowing her hair to fall and cover the black-eye she got from Josh. She also removed her blood stained jacket but on her neck and hands, specks of red are still noticeable. Sam guessed tissue won't totally wipe off blood without leaving small traces of it. But her stance could be caused by her own near death experiences starting with the saw-blade that _'killed'_ Josh up until to the burning of the lodge.

Beside Ashley and the third person in the same couch with Sam is Chris. Surely, Chris being silent is unnatural. The guy couldn't pass an hour without cracking a joke but ever since the thing in the mountains, he'd rather shut up. The explosion that burned the Washington lodge gave his glasses some cracks making him not to wear them anymore. He looked so drained; witnessing the Stranger's death by those _things_ is one reason. Thinking he killed Josh, his best friend for Ashley and realizing Josh was just making fun of them as a Psychopath killer as revenge for his sisters' disappearance due to a prank pulled almost all of them and then losing Josh for real and feeling like he failed his own friend are some things that haunts Chris now. But clasped in his hand is Ashley's. Cold to the touch but Sam knows that it's all what Chris needs for now: Ashley and nothing more.

And last is of course, Samantha herself. Sam. The brave selfless hero that night who dived to the switch that caused the explosion and became the last of the survivors to escape the lodge before it erupted to flames. Her red jacket is now smudged with grime along with her hair. The hot bath she got left no hint at all. She is a mess and dirty like everyone else around her. Those _things_ nearly killed her back in the lodge. If she made one wrong move then… she would've died. She's the last of the seven survivors to escape the lodge. During the interview, she was pretty much like a crazed person: smiling in front the officer telling them to go and see the mines and wanting to _'unsee'_ what she saw down there. They told her to talk to some of her friends but she just shook her head saying she's okay. But she isn't…

She looked at each of her friends one by one. There were ten of them the last winter before the lodge's destruction. Eight, in this year went to the annual winter reunion at the Washington Lodge and one didn't survive. Josh Washington himself, the brother of the twins who disappeared in the previous year. Sam knows the others may see Josh as a psycho—which he is—but still, Josh not being found makes Sam guilty that she didn't do anything to help him or search for him.

Who knows? Maybe the _'Wendigo'_ already got to him.

Sam smiled at the thought the Wendigo… savage monsters that were former men and women who succumbed to cannibalism in the mountain. Legends—is that even the fitting word now?—say that the spirit of the Wendigo enters the person who will begin to lose his or her humanity and crave for human flesh.

She saw it in person. All of them saw it. There were a lot of them. Sam believes the explosion didn't kill all of them. There are more in the mountain; stalking, waiting for a prey to be hunt down. And as far as Sam knows, Josh couldn't survive the Wendigo. He's probably dead by now…

By the time the officers got them out, Sam got one last look at her friends—no—her fellow survivors.


	2. Chapter Two: Returning to the Mountain

Chapter Two:

Returning to the Mountain

A year passed since the winter at the Washington Lodge. Sam rarely talked with her friends now. Of course she has small talks with Chris and Ashley—they're dating now, which is a good sign they're moving on—from time to time but the talks are always like sending a postcard.

Sam never got the chance to talk with the others.

She's continuing college and its winter. Yes, Sam is trying to live her life in a normal way but deep inside her, she knows she will never live her life normally again after what happened. She's fine with her grades and family but the new school she entered never got her new friends… because she could never replace them.

All of them survived—except for Josh and who knows where he is now—but it doesn't matter anyways, their friendship didn't survive…

She knew she never got through the experience and some nights, she would silently sob in her bed or strangely laugh or do both. And of course, nightmares of the night are always there every night in Sam's sleeps. And she would sometimes rather spend a sleepless night than enter watch the Wendigo attack or kill all of them even though they survived the attacks. She even went to a psychiatrist a few weeks after the escape from the mountain. During her sessions, the doctor would ask her what she remembers and what did she do and etc. But she doesn't really pay attention.

In the session room, there's a huge window overlooking the quad where mental patients and visitors are strolling, sitting and talking. She's staring at it most of the time in the sessions. And sometimes she would see herself as one of the patients.

Mad, insane, crazy and lost…

Lost… that's what Sam is feeling now: lost and somehow… incomplete. And she intends to find out why. And that's why she's back.

Sam took a bus to get to Blackwood County, Alberta like last winter. Sure it's an insane idea to go back into the place where she nearly died but Sam thinks she'll be crazy if she doesn't find what she's looking for. Not that she knows what is, though. Maybe she's already mad and now she's attracted to the mountain.

But one thing is for sure: looking for Josh will be some kind of an entrance to what Sam is looking for.

Sam stepped out the bus. As the bus stopped and Sam got her bag, the other passengers gave Sam erring stares which she tried to ignore. Obviously, everybody knows what happened last year and the other year. Hopefully they didn't recognize Sam or tried to ask her whereabouts.

Sam didn't even count ten seconds before the bus sped back to its way. Sam took a deep breath and faced the black iron gates in front of her. Just like last year only this time, yellow police tapes are now fixed to 'keep people out' due to police investigation on the latest events that happened in Blackwood the last two years.

Being alone here would be a foolish idea but Sam isn't alone. Beside the gate with his bag slung on his shoulder with full winter wear and a new pair of glasses is Chris.

Sam ran to meet her friend. Chris gave off one of his stupid smiles and gestured Sam for a hug which she didn't hesitate to take. Chris changed over the year. Now, his hair is a bit longer and his beard must have grown over the months but was shaved some time ago. Otherwise, he's still the same Chris, Sam came to know… and yet, he too is affected by the night.

"Chris, it's nice to see you again." Sam let go of Chris and looked at him.

"Well. I'm just glad you convinced me to come back here to finish and close the book we opened last year," Chris smiled. Sam rolled her eyes and hugged Chris again. "Okay, I know you missed me and yes, I missed you too."

"I miss your jokes and your non-stop mouth," Sam giggled. Months later the lodge's destruction, Chris and Ashley moved to San Francisco, California hoping for a fresh start for the two of them. And having him to join her to the mountain is just what Sam needs. "How's Ashley? Does she know what we're up to?"

Chris gave Sam an uneasy smile. Sure, Chris is not like Mike or even Matt but Chris is here ready to search for his bestfriend somewhere in these cold forsaken mountains. The main reason he even agreed with Sam is because he finds himself responsible to find his friend and know his fate no matter how crazy Josh is. A friend is a friend… I guess…

"Yeah… Ash's fine and good… I'm preparing to propose to her—if we survive this—next month and she's really excited for it. She misses you and everybody, Sam."

"And?" Sam crossed her arms.

"And I told her that I'm headed for a little visit to one of our friends…"

"Wait, you didn't tell her?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Sam, she doesn't want to talk about the mountain so how much am I gonna get myself a good loophole to come here? And don't worry; I said I'll be visiting you. Besides, Ash's cousins are in L.A and they're inviting her to join them there."

"So, she went"

"Well, I'm guessing she's already there."

Sam sighed and faces the gates again. She looked at Chris who gave her a slight nod. It's just the two of them against the dangers of the mountain. And no one knows if they would even survive this like the last time.

"Are you ready to find Josh?" Sam asked with a small smirk.

"Let's get ready to rumble…"


	3. Chapter Three: The Spectre

Chapter Three:

The Spectre

Sam and Chris traced their steps to the cable car station. The place didn't really change after a year. Behind the station is the shooting range where Chris showed off with a rifle in front of Sam. Memories before the attack…

"Great," Chris muttered as he tried to turn the knob. "It's locked. I guess authorities closed the place due to last year with the Wendigo thing."

Sam didn't say anything. She intended to tell Chris about the station being closed and the cable car removed by the Park County Ranger. Sam guessed nobody wants something like last year to happen again. Sam herself don't want anything like what she experienced last winter to happen again but she needs to find Josh and find the thing that would bury the memoirs of the mountain in the snow and never be dig it up again.

"Sam?" Chris nudged Sam's shoulder. "Uh… what are ye feelin' mate?"

Sam snapped from the trance and looked at Chris. The smile on Chris' face melted off. He knows something's wrong. He shuffled his feet and gave Sam one of his awkward smiles.

"So are you sure you wanna do this?" Chris asked. "I mean we could turn back—not that I want to because I really want to find Josh—"

"No, Chris," Sam snapped. "Thank you for being concerned but I'm okay. And yes, I want to find Josh really bad as you do. So, how about we look for another way in?"

…

The other way in Sam hoped for is found in the woods behind the shooting range. How did they know there's a path there? Well it's because Sam saw her dead Wendigo-transformed bestfriend walk to the woods with her fingers beckoning Sam to follow.

"Hannah?" Sam squeaked. She and Chris were just leaving the station when Sam saw it. "What the—?"

Before she could say anything else, the apparition of Hannah disappeared into a cold gust of winter wind. Sam is sure the spectre is Hannah. The thing has glasses and it's wearing the same clothes Hannah wore the night of her and Beth's disappearance except for the fact that she's bloody and her clothes are worn out and ripped. And the face is somehow a mixture of a Wendigo's and Hannah's. It's like she's just turning.

But why is Sam seeing this? Is she mad now? Has she lost her mind?

"Sam? What's wrong?" Chris walked to her side. "What? Did you see something?"

"Chris, I think… I think I-I saw H-Hannah…" Sam's voice shook.

Chris' eyes widened. He took a deep sigh and nodded. "Sam, are you sure you saw what you'd just said? I mean, Ashley and I saw these _'ghosts'_ back in the lodge's basement and it all turned out to be one of Josh's toys to prank—scare—us."

"No, Chris. I'm s-sure I saw Hannah out there half turned into a Wendigo," Sam insisted. "And d-damn it… I t-think the g-ghost wants us to follow! With or without you, I'll follow it."

Chris gave Sam an unsure look and sighed. "Okay then, let's follow ourselves a ghost."

…

To tell the truth, Sam saw the spectre again. She was visiting the psychiatrist back then. The thing going to an actual functioning sanatorium after the seeing the mountain's old and abandoned mental ward made Sam uneasy thinking what would she be now if she'd been alive during the Blackwood Sanatorium's days and be told to consonant there.

Would she be turned into a Wendigo?

But what really shook Sam about visiting a functioning sanatorium is Josh. Josh went to sessions like Sam's but he's crazier unlike Sam who is just… traumatized.

Who is she kidding? Josh was traumatized as well by the loss of his sisters. Maybe Sam is crazy as well.

As usual, her personal psychiatrist, Dr. Angus Wilson kept talking and talking and as usual, Sam's gaze is still stapled at the window overlooking the quad. She got the sudden urge to tell Dr, Wilson to just shut up but then she saw the apparition. Among the insane outside was Hannah. She's wearing a patient's blouse and she looks human: no signs of Wendigo transformation. Sam thought she's now pretty much insane as everybody else out in the quad until the figure suddenly vanished.

She never saw the apparition—except in her dreams—again until earlier. And now, Sam made herself clear that she's not really sure if she's just hallucinating things from the mountain or not.

But with a spectre guiding them to what might be an entrance back to the lodge, Sam will take her chances.

"So, how are you sure this ghost of Hannah is on our side?" Chris asked as the two of them follow the small clearing. "How are you even sure this is even the path we should follow?"

"Chris, we need to take our chances…" Sam sighed. "And to tell you frankly, I'm not really sure if this is the where Hannah—I mean the spectre—is leading us."

"So… you want to take chances?" Chris prompted. "Good thing I brought stuff we'll need so we'll be prepared for Wendigo attacks."

Sam looked at Chris and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Did you bring a—"

Chris showed two pistols and ammo inside his bag, neatly separated with the extra clothes, bottled water and med-kit and extra batteries. Looks like Chris came in ready this time.

"Holy… you seriously bought guns?" Sam stopped walking.

"Hey, you don't know when you need one and we obviously need one against those Wendigo. And don't worry about fire, I have some Molotov-making junk with me that we could use and I also have an unassembled flame-thrower—"

Sam and Chris continued their pace. Chris kept talking about tactics and strategies when Sam stopped again.

"Then we could—what? Did I say something wrong?" Chris stopped as well, looking concerned for Sam who is now frozen in place. "Sam?"

Obviously, Chris couldn't see the apparition in front of them. It is Hannah: her hair, eyes, lips, glasses, skin and tattoo are there. But she's half Wendigo. Sam didn't make another move as the ghost faced the rocks beside it. Then Sam saw the entrance all covered with torn yellow police tape.

"Chris… look…" Sam squeaked. The spectre already disappeared but the entrance didn't vanish: it's still there.

"No… freaking… way… those tunnels could only be an entrance to—"

"The mines… yes, this tunnel must go to the mines…"


End file.
